High School Reunion or High School?
by writer writing
Summary: It's their tenth reunion at Smallville High. It soon becomes high school all over. Only Clark and Lois have their memories intact and they must find out who's behind it and how to get back.
1. Chapter 1

Clark and Lois pulled into the parking lot of the high school. Lois sighed, when he shut off the engine and smoothed her black evening gown. She picked up her matching purse. 

"Clark, hand me my regular pocketbook. It's behind your seat. I've got to transfer the contents."

"Lois, we've been on the road for hours and you're just now doing that?"

"What can I say? I like waiting until the last minute."

"Here give it to me. I can switch it all over in a second."

She looked up at him as if he had suggested the world was cubed. "I don't want everything transferred. That would be a waste of time. I have to make a careful evaluation of each item."

She slowly put in a tube of lipstick, a credit card, and then she stopped to read a coupon.

"Lois, I promise you that you won't need a coupon in there."

"Clark, the date on this thing might run out and then where we would be? We might have to leave early to go buy—," she looked at the coupon, "a can of Jolly Green Giant corn. 2 cents off. You can't miss a bargain like that."

"I know you're just stalling for time, Lois and I don't understand why you don't want to go to our tenth school reunion."

"Your tenth school reunion."

"You went there too for a little while."

"Not long enough to be considered alumnae."

"Come on. I'm sure there are people that you're curious to see what happened to and there has to be some people that you liked and want to see again."

"Smallville, I didn't even like you in high school."

"You couldn't keep your hands off me."

She hit him on the arm.

"See?"

She rolled her eyes. "You know what the worst part is? It's that it's a Smallville High Reunion. It can't turn out normal."

"Says who?"

"Says the laws of the universe. Oh well, at least it won't be boring and we might get a story out of it. Let's get this over with." She reached for the handle and gave a gasp of surprise. A blonde woman was silhouetted against the night sky. She smiled and stepped back, so Lois could open the door.

"Great way to give somebody a heart attack, Chloe," Lois said.

"Sorry, Cuz. We saw you two pull up a few minutes ago and we wondered what was taking you guys so long."

"We?" Lois asked. Clark had gotten out and was standing beside Lois with his arm around her waist.

She motioned to her right and a man stepped forward. "I'd like you guys to meet my fiancé, Bruce Wayne."

"Wow, you could really give somebody a heart attack. You blended right into the dark. I didn't even see you," Lois said

"And Bruce, this is my cousin, Lois and her husband, Clark. We all go way back. Obviously, this is a high school reunion."

He shook Clark and Lois' hands. "It's nice to finally meet you, Lois. I've heard so much about you."

"All good things I hope," she laughed.

"Define good," he said, smiling.

"I like him," Lois said to Chloe. "Where are you guys going to be staying?"

"At a hotel near town. Where will you two be staying?" Bruce asked.

"At Clark's mother's. We wanted her to come to the reunion with us and chaperone for old times sake but she said we were too old for that. I told her not to blame us if I come back from the dance, pregnant."

"I see Chloe wasn't exaggerating about your humor," Bruce said.

"We better go inside," Clark said.

"Why didn't I just stay home like I wanted to," Lois muttered.

They headed for the door.

"I feel like we're about to step through a time portal and become kids again," Chloe said. "Hurry up, Clark and open the door. I know you can move faster than that."

"Sheesh, Chloe," Lois smiled at her. "Switch to decaf. We'll all feel like we're back in the nightmare that is high school soon enough."

Clark opened the door and the light and music came blasting out.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Almost as soon as they walked through the door, Lana waved her arms from over at the snack table, indicating for them to come over. Lois turned around with the intention of heading back out to the car but Clark got a hold of her by the back of her dress and turned her around.

"Lois, it's not going to hurt us to say hi," he told her. "You knew there was a strong possibility she'd be here."

"And since when does Lois Lane back down from a challenge?" Chloe asked.

Lois stuck her tongue out at Chloe but she headed over to Lana with them.

"Clark, it's been so long since we've seen each other," Lana said, engulfing him in a hug until Lois cleared her throat.

"And Lois," Lana said. "So it's true. The two of you got married. I thought it was a joke, when I first heard the news."

Lois flashed her wedding band. "As you can see, it's not."

"And Chloe," Lana said, after spotting her big diamond ring, "I see you're getting on with your life. Congratulations."

"Thank you," Chloe said and Bruce put his arm protectively around her.

"Clark," Lana said, "we've got so much catching up to do. Why don't you and I take a spin on the dance floor?"

Clark tugged nervously at his collar, "Well, uh…Lois, do you mind?"

"No, go knock yourself out," she said, clearly trying to keep a reign on her anger.

"Really, dear," he said, "just tell me if you're even slightly uncomfortable with it."

"She said it was fine," Lana said, leading him off by the hand.

He kept looking back at Lois, hoping she'd come after him but Lois just stood there with her arms folded.

Lois turned around and bumped up against a woman going by.

"Hey, Lois. Almost didn't recognize you. You've put on some weight," and she scurried off.

She was an old cheerleader that Lois never liked. Come to think of it, Lois never liked any of the cheerleaders. They were a bunch of snobs that thought the world revolved around them and the Smallville cheerleaders had stepped that stereotype up a notch with the love potion junk.

"Can you believe the nerve of that woman?" Lois asked Chloe. "I have not put on any weight." She started to reach for a chocolate cookie but she redirected her hand over some celery on the veggie tray. "Oh, who am I kidding? I need comfort food," and she picked up the cookie and sat down in a chair.

Chloe and Bruce sat down with her.

"Chloe, why is it that Clark always ends up dancing with Lana at these Smallville High dances, when he comes with me?"

"He gave you a chance to speak up," Chloe reminded her. "Both times I might add."

"The first time didn't count. It was his idea of being chivalrous. He was head over heels in love with Lana."

"True but he's in love with you now. More than he ever was with Lana. Look at him. Lana keeps chattering and he keeps looking over at you. He looks uneasy and like he desperately wants to get away."

"He does, doesn't he? Lana's oblivious to it. It serves him right after the prom thing. He didn't have to take me up on my offer. He could've insisted on dancing with me."

"You know you wouldn't have wanted to be second fiddle but it's important to note that he came to the prom with you."

"I was possessed."

"He wasn't. At that time anyway."

"I still can't believe that he pinned the flower where he did, shy as he was back then."

"I think he had some feelings for you. He couldn't have done that with a lot of girls. To tell you the truth, I was a tiny bit jealous because whether you two saw the connection between you or not, the rest of the world did."

"Yeah, I felt a little something for him. We just tucked those feelings aside and refused to acknowledge them. I think subconsciously we knew it wasn't the right time. You have great powers, cousin. I feel better or it could be the chocolate cookie."

"As much as that man loves you, I can't believe you're jealous in the first place," Chloe admonished.

"Hey, every wife has the right to vent over ex-girlfriends and she was a pretty serious girlfriend. I'm so pathetic. I keep thinking up all sorts of names to call her like pink princess, but considering I'm the one that had a pink prom dress, that's hardly fair. Of course, I'll never get caught in pink again, possession or no possession."

Lois bent over and began picking at some of the tape that was on the gym floor.

"Lois, stop that. We may have graduated from this school but other people still need to use the gym and did you know practically ever teacher we've ever had is here?"

"Wouldn't want a detention, I suppose," she said, as she sat back up. "It's just why does Miss Perfect have to be single? She got her marriage to Lex annulled years ago. What does she do for a living? Do you know?"

"She coordinates parties. I hear she gets some fairly big clients. She's the one that put this reunion together."

"That's right. I remember the invitation reading coordinated by Lana Lang at the bottom. How long does this song last?"

"It should be about over."

"Why haven't you said anything, Bruce?" Lois asked

"It sounded like a lady's conversation," he replied.

Lois smiled and a strange man came up to them.

"You must be Mrs. Kent," he said to Lois. "I've been dying to meet the woman Clark Kent tied the knot with."

"Pete!" Chloe said, standing up and hugging him. "I hardly recognized you. You look so grown up."

Lois and Bruce stood up and shook his hand and introduced themselves properly.

"So you're Pete Ross," Lois said. "I finally have a face to associate with the name."

"Clark certainly picked a looker," he said. "What do you do for a living?"

"We both work at the Planet."

"I knew Clark did. Wait, Lois Lane. Right? I've read your articles for years. I didn't know you were that Lois but it makes sense. You do a lot of Superman exclusives. You seem like the strong type that can keep him on his toes. It's just the kind of woman he needed to marry. Where is the old guy?"

"Dancing with Lana," Lois said trying to keep a cool look and calm voice.

Pete formed an o with his lips.

At last, the song ended and Lana and Clark joined the group.

"Pete," Clark said with a grin. "What have you been up to?"

"I'm an editor of a small town paper. I guess Chloe rubbed off on me, on you and Lois too, it looks like. And Chloe you work for the Gotham Gazette and do a lot of Batman stories. You know I've actually reprinted stories by all 3 of you through AP."

"Are you alone?" Lana asked.

"Yeah, no family or significant others," he told her.

"Me neither," Lana said. "I'm through dancing with Clark. You want to dance with me?"

"Sure," he smiled at her.

As they went out to the dance floor, Clark hollered after Pete, "Don't leave without giving me a number. We should keep in touch."

Pete nodded but a little nervously. He was still worried about whether he had the ability to keep Clark's identity a secret.

"You know what? I think you and Bruce need to get Chloe and me some punch. We're thirsty," Lois said.

Clark knew what she really wanted him to do. They'd talked about it earlier.

As he and Bruce were getting the drinks, he asked. "Have you told her you're Batman yet?"

"No, but I don't think we should talk about it in public."

"You can't keep putting it off. The longer you wait, the harder it's going to be. I felt so bad that Lois and I had to lie and pretend we were meeting you for the first time. I couldn't tell Chloe we knew you because you and I are in the Justice League together. We'll protect your secret, of course but you can't keep it up forever."

"It's not that I'm afraid to tell her. I just keep waiting for the right time to bring it up."

"There is no right time and eventually she's going to figure it out by herself. Lois found out my alter ego when we were engaged and she would've been a lot less mad if I'd have found a way to tell her on my own."

"I'm going to. Soon."

Chloe and Lois were sitting and having a talk of their own.

"Chloe, you're going to have to tell him," Lois said.

"I know. I'm just afraid he won't want to marry me when he finds out."

"If he loves you like I know he does, it won't change how he feels. It didn't change how Clark and I felt about you."

"I know."

"He has to know. Couples can't have secrets like that entering a marriage. Not to mention—"

"I get what you're saying. I'll tell him. Soon."

They came back with the drinks. Lois quickly drained hers and tossed it in the trashcan.

Clark was standing up. He offered her his hand. "Can I have this dance, milady?"

"I don't know. Are you sure you don't want to dance with someone else?"

"I'm sure and I believe you owe me a dance or two," he said with his hand still out.

She gave in with a smile and took his hand to stand up. There was a blinding flash of light and suddenly all signs of a high school reunion were gone.

They appeared to be in a P.E. class and the gym teacher shouted at Lois, "Drop Kent's hand, Lane and climb up the rope!"

TBC 


	3. Chapter 3

"Excuse me?" Lois said, as she dropped Clark's hand out of surprise and looked around the room. "What's going on? Is this some sort of sick, practical joke?" 

"No, Lane," said Mr. Powell, the gym teacher, "It's your turn and I want you to climb that rope."

Lois looked up at the rope. She could easily do it. Her profession often put her into climbing situations and her father had made her do some of the worst obstacle courses known to man but she wasn't about to do it just because somebody told her to. "No!"

"I mean it. If you don't climb up it now, I'm going to send you to the principal's office."

Lois mockingly threw her hands up. "Oh, no. Anything but that!"

"Go, right this second, Lane."

"With pleasure," she sneered and started for the door leading outside.

"To the principal's office! Kent, show her where Mr. Reynolds' office is."

"Yes, sir," he said confused himself. He wondered why no one else seemed to think anything was wrong.

"Clark, what the heck is going on?" she asked, when they got out in the hall. "Call me crazy but weren't we at a reunion? When did we end up in a P.E. class?"

"I don't know."

"Do you think we went back in time?"

He looked her up and down. "You definitely look younger and I never realized how good those old gym uniforms looked before," he said, getting ready to draw her closer.

She smacked his hands. "Now is not the time. We've got to get out of here. Look at my hair. It's longer and blonder," she said, as she felt the ends. "and it's not an illusion."

"I admit that I like you hair with its natural shade but you look great no matter what."

"I suppose one positive outcome is that I don't have to worry about you leaving me for a younger woman," she joked.

"Like that would ever happen."

They finally got to a door that led outside.

"Let's get out of this hellhole," Lois said, as she pushed it open. There was nothing outside but white empty space. "I'm officially freaked out now. I knew we shouldn't have come."

"We'll get out of here somehow. I'm going to go out there."

"Are you crazy? What if you get vaporized or go into limbo?"

"I'm practically indestructible."

"Practically being the key word. You can go, if you let me go with you."

"No."

"I didn't think so."

"Well, I guess we can always test it with something first."

He looked around and saw a crumpled piece of paper and threw it out. It floated further and further away until lighting gathered and struck it, vaporizing it.

"Look at that," Lois said, shutting the door. "It's a limbo that vaporizes things. I was right on both accounts."

"What do we do now?"

She shrugged. "I guess play along and go see the principal. If we just went back in time, we should still have access to the rest of the world and did you see Bruce and some of the other dates in class. They never went to Smallville. Why aren't they freaking out?"

"That's a good question."

"Do you think Lex is behind it?"

"I doubt it. It's been awhile since we've dealt with them but I would guess a meteor freak."

"I don't like the term meteor freaks. They aren't all freaks. There's perfectly good people out there like—"

"I know. I'm just used to calling them that."

"I've never heard of a meteor person with this power."

"Maybe that's because they've never shown it. A good part of the Smallville population was infected."

"I know. It's virtually a requirement for living in Smallville. I'd say 90 percent of the people that went here had powers and most of that 90 percent either died or got locked up, even if it was due to misusing their powers. If I were part of the remaining 10 percent, I would try to hide them but why display them at the reunion?"

"I guess we need to start investigating people. Whoever is behind it isn't going to completely blend in. They'll have to remember the present."

"My head hurts with all the questions and possibilities," she said, as they finally came to the office. "High school wasn't fun the first time around or the second and it won't be on the third. This whole situation reminds me of that wax kid. Why don't people want to let high school go?"

He gave her a quick hug. "At least we're together. That'll make it more bearable."

They walked in. The secretary wasn't there.

"Of course, Mrs. Nelson is—"

"What do you kids need?" said Mr. Reynolds, as he came out of his office. "Mrs. Nelson is on vacation."

"A permanent vacation," Lois whispered, "unless she can raise herself from the dead."

"Lois wouldn't participate in P.E., so she got sent here. I had to accompany her."

"Tattletale," she whispered playfully.

"Let's chat, Miss Lane. Shall we?"

Lois glanced back at Clark, as she followed him into the office.

He smiled. "I'll be waiting for you."

She sat down. She was quite familiar with this room. She had been here a lot in the short time she was here.

"I know you want out but—"

"You have no idea," she told him.

"You can't get into college unless you pass high school."

"Technically that's not true. Come on just give me my detention and get it over with."

"You aren't taking this seriously. Don't force me to call the Kents or your father."

Her eyes widened with excitement and she scooted to the end of her chair. "Would you please?"

"I'm not playing around."

"I think you should call. There's no excuse for what I did. Call!"

"I think I will, young lady."

He tried calling the Kent farm and the base.

"That's funny. There's no tone. I'm going to have to find someone to fix it tomorrow."

Lois sighed.

"I'll let you go back if you behave yourself."

"Fine," she said, standing up.

"I mean it."

Clark was waiting for her like he said he would. The bell rung and people filled the hallways but not as many as if there had been 4 complete grades.

"What's next?" Lois asked.

"I don't know."

"You don't remember the schedule? You went here longer."

"I didn't think I'd need to recall it 10 years down the road."

Chloe came by. "Come on guys. We have Bio next. You haven't even changed out of you uniforms," and she hurried off to class.

"Come on, dear husband, we wouldn't want to be late to class."

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

Clark and Lois went to the locker rooms. 

"Do you think we have clothes to change into?" Clark asked.

"Only one way to find out," Lois said, as she started to go into the girls locker room.

"Wait," Clark said. "We'll have to separate to change."

"That's generally the way they make locker rooms, one for girls and one for boys."

"I don't like the idea of getting separated. We still don't know what exactly happened."

"Fine. I'll go in here and you x-ray through the wall and watch, assuming there's no other girls changing."

Lois found a pair of jeans and a t-shirt that she used to own and put them on. She came back out. "Your turn."

She began following him into the boys locker room.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I don't have the luxury of x-raying through walls. Somebody's got to watch you while you change. It's not the first time I've been in there."

"Believe me, I remember but that was before you were my wife."

"I still go where I want when I want. Look and see if anyone's in there."

"No."

"Then move it. We don't have all day."

Clark changed into his familiar plaid shirt and jeans and they went to biology.

"Clark, Lois, so nice of you to join us," said Mrs. Flanders, their old science teacher.

"We were in the office," Clark explained.

"I know," she replied. "Your classmates told me. Take a seat. We were just about to study how a baby changes and develops over the 9 months that it's in the womb. You haven't missed much."

Clark took a seat at one of the science tables but Lois stood there, looking pale and panicked.

"Excuse me," Lois said at last, "I have to run to the restroom."

She dashed out before the teacher had time to answer.

Clark raised his hand. "Mrs. Flanders, I forgot to get a drink of water after P.E. May I be excused?"

If Clark had been the kind of student who had always made excuses to get out of class, she probably would have said no but as he didn't, she said yes.

He quickly caught up with Lois, "Honey, what's the matter?"

"Nature's calling. That's one phenomenon that hasn't changed. Now if you'll excuse me, I need some privacy."

"Lois—"

"If I get in trouble, I'll yell. If I come out with memory loss, you'll know."

"Okay but I'm waiting for you out here."

"Okay," she said, as she went in the girls restroom.

She didn't really have to go. She opened up the paper towel dispenser and reached in to find the familiar box of pregnancy tests. There was always some stashed in this hiding place for girls with active lifestyles. She never thought she would need to use one of them.

She had just found out she was pregnant yesterday. She hadn't told Clark yet. She had been waiting for a special time and place. After the reunion was over, they had been planning to go to this nice Italian restaurant, since they would already be dressed up. It was one of those places that had a person playing the violin, incredible food, candlelight, and exclusion. She had wanted to tell him over dinner and then the next day, they could have told his mom.

That idea was out the window. She just hoped and prayed that she was still pregnant.

She held her breath as she waited on the test results. She was probably the only one who had stood in here, hoping it would be positive. It was negative. She was not pregnant.

Tears clouded her vision. If they had left their older bodies somewhere, would the baby be okay? If their bodies had deaged, had the baby deaged? Would it come back if they were aged again? She didn't know.

Yesterday had been one of the best days of her life. They hadn't been sure if it was possible for them to have kids, since they were from different planets. The real problem seemed to be with the dangerous lifestyles they led. Could she carry the baby 9 months and if they managed to bring it into the world, could they keep it safe?

She probably spent 5 minutes silently sobbing. At last, she wiped her eyes. It was still possible that she hadn't lost it, however small that possibility might be. She had to stay strong. She couldn't tell Clark. There was no reason to worry and burden him unnecessarily. He had enough on his plate right now.

"Are you okay?" he asked her when she came out.

"I'm fine. My name is Lois Joanne Lane Kent. I'm 28 years old. I live at 1938 Sullivan Lane, Metropolis. See? No memory loss."

Despite her attempts to hide it, he could tell she had been crying. "Are you sure everything's okay?"

"Besides being stuck in high school? Yes. I don't want to go back to biology though."

"Why not?"

"What can we learn? Other than about babies. We might as well wait until everybody gets out of class. It's not going to hurt you to play hooky. Especially since you've done passed the class once."

"I know what this is about."

"You do?"

"You're afraid we can't have kids."

"Oh…yeah. Why would I want to hear that crap when we…"

"Sweetheart, we can always adopt but if you want to wait until class lets out, I understand."

"Thank you."

He gave her a comforting hug and she cried on his shoulder.

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

Students flooded the halls once again. Clark and Lois found Chloe. They needed her to tell them where the next place to go was. 

"Are you guys ready to eat?" Chloe asked them all on her own.

"Lunch," Lois said, "my favorite part of the school day. Wait a second. Please tell me I packed."

"When does anybody ever pack?" Chloe asked. "Come on guys we need to get to the cafeteria before all the chocolate milk is gone."

Clark and Lois walked far enough behind Chloe so that they could whisper together.

"Refresh my memory, Clark but didn't we always have your mom pack our lunches because the food here tastes like crap?"

"Maybe it's improved since then."

"Yeah, right. Some things never change and the quality of school lunches is one of them."

Chloe looked back at them and gave them a strange look. She was probably wondering when they became so chummy. They caught up with her.

Clark asked Chloe. "Do you know what year it is?"

"Are you feeling okay?" Chloe asked.

"No, this is important, Cuz. Humor him and tell him what year it is."

"Um…,"she paused to think. "Is it important?" she said at last.

Clark and Lois gave each other a look. Chloe had no idea what year it was. She only knew she was in high school.

Lunch was fish sticks and fries. Lois was right about the quality not changing.

Clark and Lois came out with their trays. At the end of one of the tables, Chloe, Pete, and Lana motioned and called for Clark to come join them. They had saved him a seat.

He looked at Lois. "We'll find somewhere else to sit. I don't want you to have to sit by yourself."

"That's sweet but you should sit with them and search their brains for clues. What's left of their brains. I'll be fine."

"We always ate together in high school. You, me, and Chloe."

"Yeah, but five's a crowd. Really I'll be fine. We should spread out and talk to as many people as possible."

"If you're sure. I'd kiss your cheek but it probably wouldn't be good to let the whole school see. I love you. Meet you after lunch to compare notes."

"Okay. Love you, too."

He went over to join the trio. Lois could see why Pete and Lana could care less about saving her a seat but for her own cousin to leave her out. That was just—she spotted Bruce and she wasn't really surprised to see him sitting alone. For one thing he seemed to be the type that would have been a loner in high school and he had never been to this school to make friends. She'd keep him company.

"Hey, Bruce. Does it taste as bad as it looks? I haven't tried any yet."

"Do I know you?"

"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I feel like I already know you. My name's Lois Lane."

"I'm Bruce Wayne."

"I just realized our last names rhyme. That's neat. So you're a billionaire?"

"Yeah."

"Where did you go to school before?"

"I didn't go anywhere. I was tutored."

"I see. Where are you living?"

"My butler, who raised me, and I rented a house nearby, so I could come to high school in Smallville."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

"What do you think about bats?'

He looked at her funny. "I beg your pardon?"

"Nothing. Got any girlfriends?"

He hadn't stopped giving her the funny look. He probably thought she was the most forward person he had ever met and the one who asked the weirdest questions.

"No," he answered hesitantly.

"See that blonde girl over there? I have a hunch she likes you."

"Looks like she's goggling the guy beside her to me."

"She is not! I mean if you talk to her and you two get to know each other, I'm sure you'll find you were made for each other."

"How do you know? I'm positive I'm not her type."

"I'm her cousin. I know what her type is."

"If you don't mind, I like to eat my lunch in silence."

Lois sighed. She hoped Clark was finding out more than she was.  
---

"So Clark," Pete said. "We're hanging out at the Talon after school."

Chloe cleared her throat.

"After we work on the paper," Pete said.

"That would be nice, if we can," Clark said.

"Of course, we can," Chloe said. "And Lois can come with us. I felt bad there wasn't enough room for the 5 of us to sit together. Looks like I did her a favor though. She found a cute, new guy to sit with."

"She did not!" Clark said.

"Whoa. What's wrong with Lois having a boyfriend?" Chloe asked.

"Plenty," Clark said.

"Guess what?" Pete said. "Lana was just telling me how she's looking for a new boyfriend."

"I didn't say that," Lana said with a blush.

Pete grinned. "Not in so many words."

Lana smiled at Clark and he felt a hand on his knee. Clark jumped up.

"Chloe," he said. "I don't like sitting on the end. Do you want to switch places?"

Chloe smiled a happy smile and switched. Pete and Lana just looked confused. They finished lunch in silence.

---

Clark and Lois met after lunch. "Anything?" they asked simultaneously. They both shook their heads.

"We'll never get out of this nightmare," Lois said.

---

Meanwhile, it was early morning in Smallville. Martha Kent, as well as other town members, and the police stood in the Smallville high parking lot. No one had ever come back from the reunion but perhaps the most disturbing thing was that the high school had disappeared.

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

Clark and Lois followed Chloe to the next class, which happened to be English. Clark paused in the doorway and then pulled Lois out into the hall with him.

"What?" Lois asked.

"That's Mrs. Taylor."

"So?"

"She was a teacher here, before you came. She went to prison because when she was younger, she was part of a radical, political group that blew up a bank and killed a guard. Chloe was infected, so that she made everyone around her tell the truth and she confessed the crime. "

"So now she wants her revenge and has a special power to do it with."

"It's also possible that she served her sentence and she wanted to see her old students again. We need to find out."

They went back in and went up to her desk.

"Mrs. Taylor," Clark said. "Can we ask you a few questions?"

"If it's about Gulliver's Travels, wait until we start class."

"Like I'd ever read a book that has a movie to watch instead," Lois muttered.

Mrs. Taylor looked at Lois. "Young lady, sloughing off in your work, leads to sloughing off in your life. I know there's life after school but first you have to get through school."

Lois raised an eyebrow. She seemed to have meant what she said. Either she was a good actor or she was just as affected as the rest of the school.

"Did you cause us to return to high school?" Clark asked

"Excuse me?" she said.

"Mrs. Taylor, Lois and I have something important to do. We'll come back if we can." Once they were out in the hallway he told Lois, "Her heartbeat was slow and steady. She wasn't lying. I don't think."

"Well, great. So now what?"

"I was thinking we could search the school for clues, while we have a chance. They may not keep letting us out forever."

"We should have done it a lot earlier."

As they were walking the deserted halls, Clark took Lois by the hand.

She smiled at him. "Now the picture's complete. We look just like a couple of high school students in love. All that's missing is you forking over your jacket and class ring."

"I'd give them to you if I had them," he said, gently pushing her up against the lockers and kissing her. "You wouldn't want me anywhere near my class ring though."

"Why not?"

"It was made with red kryptonite instead of rubies. I ended up having to destroy it, so Kal wouldn't keep resurfacing."

"That's definitely the last thing we'd need in all this mess," Lois said.

"You don't like him?" Clark asked, smiling.

"I like you but then again I've only met him twice. The first time I don't remember but the second time was something else."

He laughed. "It was that mysterious candy that came in the mail from Smallville and we thought was from Mom."

"And you put it your mouth without checking with her first. Shiny, red suckers should have been a dead give away. I still think Lex did it. It was lucky Perry got worried that his two best reporters had supposedly quit and called your mom. Because you locked us in the apartment and cut off all communications. I'm glad your mom knew that a new load of red kryptonite had been discovered and thought to bring the green kryptonite. It was awful."

"Awful? What do you mean awful?"

"Clark, we were locked up for a week, all play and no work. You're insatiable when you're on that stuff. I suppose I should be happy that you only come to me on or off the kryptonite."

"It only removes my inhibitions. You're my only love and desire. You have to admit, it was fun and if you didn't keep me occupied, I might have become violent and left to hurt people. You did a good deed."

"I'm such a humanitarian," she said, putting her arms around his neck and drawing him in for a deep, passionate kiss.

That's when Mr. Reynolds came by, walking the halls. "What do you think you two are doing? You know the rules. No PDA. Why aren't you in class?"

"Yes, sir. We're going," Clark said.

They quickly broke apart and began heading back. Luckily, Mr. Reynolds didn't follow them. Clark opened the door to the Torch and went in. Lois followed.

"What are we doing?" Lois asked. "Class is across the hall."

"Checking for clues," he said, sitting down in a chair and pulling her on his lap.

"No PDA, remember?" she said teasingly.

"Our marriage certificate licenses us to all the public displays of affection we want."

They forgot to lock the door but they weren't going to go all the way. It wasn't the place for it.

"You know high school would've been much more fun, if we'd have tried this when we were kids," Lois said between kisses.

"Boy, were we stupid."

Chloe opened the door and her eyes filled up with tears, as she saw what they were doing. "Lois, how could you?"

She slammed the door and her shoes echoed, as she ran off.

TBC 


	7. Chapter 7

"I'll go talk to her," Clark said. 

"No, I will," Lois said. "She's mad at me, not you and seeing the both of us won't help her any."

"Okay. I'll be in here really looking for clues. Lois, whatever you do, don't tell her the truth. Her mind believes she's in high school and if you dash that illusion, there's no telling what damage it might do."

Lois nodded and then left to find Chloe.

If she were Chloe in high school, where would she go? That normally would have been easy, the Torch but they had been in the Torch. She hadn't gone back to class. It sounded like she had gone toward the right. She probably went to the library. It was secluded and she could sit in front of a computer.

Lois had guessed right. Only Chloe wasn't surfing the web but that's probably because it wasn't working. She was just sitting there, quietly crying.

She turned her chair away from Lois, when she saw her and said coldly. "Go away. I don't want to talk to you. Ever!"

"I'm so sorry," she said, sitting in a chair next to her. "I didn't think about how it might affect you if you saw us. I didn't want to hurt you. I hope you'll forgive me and not let a man come between us."

"How long?"

"Excuse me?"

"How long have you been with him behind my back?"

"Not long and I wouldn't go behind your back on purpose."

She turned around to face Lois and ask, "Have you slept with him?"

"I don't think that's any of your business."

"So the answer's yes. All those times you kept telling me 'Don't give those baby blue eyes another thought," and 'How could you fall for a farm boy?' All those times you just wanted me out of the way, so you could have him for yourself."

"What? No! When I said those things, I meant them. I was concerned about your welfare, not mine."

"I can't trust anything you say. You're a liar. I just can't believe you. You're smarter, prettier, older, and you've got such a carefree attitude. Your life is perfect but I was better at one thing and that was journalism—"

"But—"

"Let me finish. You write your first article unwillingly and it's amazing. I worked hard to get that good and you walk in with a God-given talent that you don't even want. If that doesn't make me feel bad enough, you prove that the guy I've pined after for years, who will never see me as more than a friend, you can have with a snap of your fingers. It's not fair."

"First of all, smarter, Miss Genius with a Computer? I'm lucky that I know what one is. You're the one that's prettier and you're a wonderfully caring person and since when is older better? I'll be over the hill first. You are just as good in journalism and if it's more because of hard work than talent, that's an even greater accomplishment and I think you know you have a hidden talent that I don't. As for Clark, you will meet someone that you'll love more than Clark. You'll certainly end up wealthier than me and you're crazy, if you think I have a perfect life. There's no such thing."

"He doesn't love you. He'll only ever love Lana."

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes, I do. You're just filling in for Lana. I'm sure when he kisses you, he pictures Lana. You know what that makes you? A step above a prostitute."

"How dare you!" Lois said, standing up. "I'm trying to be patient with you. I know you're not yourself and have the mind of an adolescent. Right now you're a starring role in a teen soap opera but I'm warning you, I have had a bad day and it's not going to take much more to make me blow up."

"You blow up on a daily basis with your temper. Besides, it looked like you were really suffering against Clark's lips. Poor Lois. I came to find out why you kept missing class. Now I know it's because you're a hooker."

"SHUT UP!"

"What else do you call a woman that sleeps with somebody, who doesn't love her?"

"I'm leaving before you make me say something really awful and I hurt you even more," Lois said with tears in her eyes.

Chloe instantly regretted what she had said. She could handle an angry Lois, in fact, that's what she had been going for. To see Lois cry was scary. Lois didn't believe in crying in front of people. She though it made her weak. Something must have really been bothering her.

She stood up and took the fleeing Lois by the wrist. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know. Perhaps my cousin calling me a hooker might have something to do with it."

"I'm sorry. You know I didn't really mean any of it. I was upset and not thinking straight. That's not why you're crying though. What happened?"

"School happened."

"Come on. You can tell me. I'll keep it a secret. No matter what happens between us, I'll always love and care about you."

Lois looked at her. She couldn't tell her about the future but maybe she could tell her this one thing. She had to talk about it with someone. "Chloe, I was pregnant…but I think I might have lost the baby."

"Clark's baby?"

"Keep your voice down. Yes. Only I didn't get a chance to tell him and now I definitely can't. He would have been so happy. I can't give him unnecessary pain by telling him about it, not until I'm sure one way or the other."

Chloe hugged her. "I had no idea. You should see a doctor and tell Clark."

"I will as soon as I can. Remember you promised not to tell anyone."

"I know. This may be hard to hear but if you have lost it, it's probably for the best."

"What?"

"You can't take care of a baby. You and Clark have a future ahead of you and your income is nonexistent."

"We could handle a baby. We want a baby."

"You're not married. Why would you guys want a baby?"

"What I mean is, if we became young parents, we're ready."

"I hope you haven't lost it for your sake and it'd be fun to be called Aunt Chloe."

"Thank you. It means a lot to hear you say that."

"Do you love him?"

"Yes."

"Clark would never be with anyone he didn't love as much or more than Lana and after seeing the way he was around Lana at lunch, I'd say more."

Lois smiled and dried her eyes with her shirt. Clark was waiting on her. "Will you be okay, Chloe?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I just need some time to gather myself together," she said, smiling. "Hey, that boy you sat with at lunch was pretty cute. Now that I know there's no hope for Clark and me, I may talk to him."

"Good for you," and Lois left.

As Lois was walking along the hall, a hand clamped over her mouth and pulled her into the janitor's closet. It wasn't Clark.

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

Lois bit the man's hand and elbowed him in the stomach. The man was now bent over in pain. She started to yell Superman but only made it last the S sound. "You're that guy that erases people's memories. Now it all makes sense." 

She got the Su part out before he interrupted, "Yes, ma'am. I'm Kevin Grady but I'm not a bad guy. I want to help."

"Why did you pull me into the janitor's closet then? Who else can mess with people's memories and as I recall or don't recall rather, you stole from the Talon."

"We needed to talk someplace private and I admit I'm the one who changed and took away memories. I had no choice. The person who orchestrated this thing would have killed me."

"Who is it?"

"I don't know. He or she changes their face and voice every time. Plus, I'm always getting the creepy feeling that I'm being watched. Think about it. I wouldn't have revealed myself if I wasn't honest. I know the memory wave didn't work on you and your husband and I need your help with stopping this thing."

"Is that why you didn't mess up our memories?"

"No, it wasn't on purpose but I'm glad it didn't work. I think it's because he's Superman and—"

"You know he's Superman?"

"Yeah, it's a long story. I saw his power display before I left Smallville. You and some others did too but I helped him out by erasing everyone's memory of it. It's also what brought back his memory. I don't think he remembers me very well. Like I was saying, I think his superness combined with your normalness, canceled out any effect it might have had on the two of you. It's very important that you two hold hands again exactly at 3:00."

"Why?"

"You'll see."

"It's still not making any sense. Your memory power never included altering memories or going past a few minutes."

"They got stronger over the years."

"To include making us younger, putting us wherever we are, etc."

"I only touched people's memories. I know who made you younger but it's too complicated to share right now. I don't know who did the rest. Maybe the leader of this thing."

"Come with me and tell Clark all this."

"You'll have to explain it. It would be too risky for me to be out in the open and gone for any length of time."

"Gone from where? Class?"

"It's not important, Lois but you and Clark have to stop this."

"We will. I'll tell him right away," she said and she went back to the Torch and Kevin went wherever he went.  
---

"Clark!" Lois said, bursting through the door.

Clark looked up from the computer that he had been working on and hoping to get online with. "How's Chloe?"

"Chloe? Oh, yeah. She's okay. She's not Miss Sally Sunshine right now but she's coming to terms with it."

"I never thought teen Chloe would have been okay with it. She's a good person that way though and she's the one that got us to go on our first date together."

"Tricked is more like it and I know she was heavily influenced by Jimmy. That kid never can stop playing cupid."

"He was right about us being good together."

"One time he was right. There's something more important to talk about."

She told him everything Kevin told her.

"Wow, this person can change their face and voice? Do you know how difficult it's going to be to find them?"

"Not really. We just have to get well acquainted with everyone, so we'll know when a stranger is lurking about."

"Maybe," he looked more worried than he had this whole time.

Lois put her arms around him. "The team of Lane and Kent has never failed yet."

He smiled, "In more than one department."

Their kiss was interrupted by the bell ringing.

"I hate that thing. It's such a loud, annoying sound," Lois complained.

"Not if you're in a boring class. Then angels don't sound like a school bell."

Lois laughed. "It's true. We better go."

"I'm pretty sure math was next in the schedule. It was never my favorite class in the day and I always watched the clock go from 1:30 to 2:15."

"Not that surprising. If we liked math, we wouldn't be journalists. I just skipped it altogether."

"Hence why you flunked and had to repeat high school."

"Shut up. Are we going or not?"

They got out in the hall.

"I'm very glad you flunked," he said, slipping an arm around her waist, "or that would have been less time we would have gotten to spend together.

She smiled but said, "No PDA."

"Fine," he grumbled, taking his arm away.

Clark was right. Math was next. The class whispered when they came in and sat down. Everybody kept sneaking them looks. Chloe shot them a sympathetic, guilty look. When Pete came by on the way to his seat, he gave them a thumbs up sign. Lana was right behind Pete and she whispered, "What you're doing is illegal." Clark and Lois gave each other confused looks. What was illegal?

The math teacher, Mr. Lemons, rapped on the desk with his pointer. "That's quite enough. I know you're all excited to begin Calculus and the bell is going to ring now."

The bell rang.

"How does he do that?" Lois whispered awed and apprehensive.

"Maybe it's his meteor power," Clark joked.

TBC


	9. Chapter 9

"And that's how you get the formula for the quadratic equation. Isn't that interesting?" Mr. Lemons asked in all sincerity. "Now let me show you how you derive the formula for--" 

"Clark, just shoot me and put me out of my misery," Lois whispered. "Out of all the classes we could have stayed for and it had to be math."

"You know now that I'm older, he's right. It is kind of interesting to know. You never know when something like that might come in handy in our line of work."

"You're joking. When have we ever used math to write a story?"

"When you had to do that story about how American students are doing worse and worse in math."

"And I'm proving what I wrote. Our generation is a part of that downward trend. It would be hypocrisy if--" Lois looked down at her lap. The girl in front of her had just tossed her a note. It was addressed to her and Clark. "Isn't that sweet? Our first shared class note as a married couple."

Clark leaned in and Lois unfolded it. The smell of a flowery perfume drifted up and it was written in Lana's artistic, curvy handwriting.

'Clark, Lois. I'm only telling you this because I care but you can't go out. Lois is legally an adult and Clark is still a minor.'

Clark rolled his eyes, took the note, and stuffed it in his desk.

"She's not wrong you know," Lois whispered.

"Yes, she is. First of all, you couldn't go to jail, since there's no jail to go to and it's usually men they prosecute. Second of all, we're both well over 18."

"Even so, physically you're a minor and I'm not."

"If you want to get technical, I don't even know my actual birthday, so I could be older. Besides, I'm a consenting minor."

"That just sounds so wrong. It wouldn't hurt to keep our hands to ourselves until we're in our older bodies."

"I'll make a deal with you. You can keep your hands to yourself and I'll put my hands wherever I please, as long as it's on my wife, of course."

"Keep your voice down. What if somebody hears you?"

He grinned and emphasized his previous statement by putting his hand on her knee, causing Lois to jump up.

Mr. Lemons turned around. "You have the answer?"

"Um...yeah," Lois said. "533."

"That's odd, since I don't have anything on the board."

Lois sighed and saw that he had been in the process of erasing the board.

"I think I should move you closer, so you can see the board better. Marie, trade places with Lois, please."

Lois turned around and stuck her tongue out at Clark in a see-what-you-did manner.

The white blonde girl took her seat and she took hers. The guy Lois had to sit beside was obviously a jock, who thought he had a way with women.

"Hey, babe. You can talk all you want to. Mr. Lemons is half deaf but you should never jump up out of your seat."

"Thanks for the advice," she said sarcastically and made a point not to make eye contact.

"You know, I'm free to hang with you after school, if you catch my drift," as his hand started to leave his side.

"My hus--I mean boyfriend will crush your hand, if I don't do it first. Wait a second, I know you. Aren't you Jack Rodgers?"

"My reputation precedes me I see."

"It does indeed. You run or will run Rodgers Flower Shop with your wife. You're the most hen-pecked man in the county."

"What?"

Lois smirked. "Nothing. Just stay in your space and keep your mouth shut and we'll get along fine. I can't believe I'm saying this but I would rather hear Mr. Lemons than you."

Lois looked back at Clark. Clark was watching the clock and Marie was studiously taking notes.

She turned back around and tuned into Mr. Lemons. "That's 6 formulas so far. I hope you took notes. There'll be a quiz on it tomorrow. The bell is going to ring now."

The bell rang immediately after 'now'. It had never yet failed to creep her out.

Clark and Lois left together. Chloe caught up to them. "I'm sorry. I only told Lana and Pete."

"I know," Lois said, "and they told somebody and pretty soon it was over the whole school."

"Sorry," Chloe repeated.

"It's okay. Nobody asked you to keep it a secret," Lois said. "So what's next in the prison routine?"

"Study hall, of course and it's the last class of the day," Chloe said.

"Have you talked to Bruce yet?" Lois asked with a smile.

"Not yet. So that's his name? Bruce? That's a nice name. Bruce." Chloe remarked mostly to herself.

"Study hall is the perfect time to talk to him," Lois said.

"I don't know," Chloe said hesitantly.

"Chloe's right," Clark said. "It is study hall, not social hall."

"Who studies in study hall?" Lois asks.

"I have a feeling if anyone does, Bruce does and I think our study hall teacher was--is pretty strict," Clark told her.

Lois said. "Don't listen to him. There'll be plenty of time to talk to him but you better hurry up and get there, so you can get a seat next to him."

Chloe hurried ahead.

"I don't like that look on your face," Clark said.

"What look?" Lois asked.

"That I've-got-a-wild-idea look."

"Come on," she said, pulling him along.  
---

Martha Kent was the only one left in the parking lot. The area where the high school had been was roped off with yellow police tape.

She looked up in the sky. She didn't know what she was hoping. Maybe she hoped to see the high school come falling out of the sky. It seemed like that had happened once in a Disney movie.

She couldn't leave. Clark and Lois were the only family she had. She had friends, of course, but it wasn't the same thing. If anything ever happened to them, she didn't know what she'd do.

Suddenly in the early morning light, a tiny black hole appeared where the edge of the school should have been. A boy she had never seen before stepped out of the hole and the hole disappeared as soon as it had come.

"Hey, you! You've got some explaining to do!" she yelled at him.

The boy's eyes got big and frightened and he ran off.

There was no way she was going to outrun a young man. She'd just have to tell the sheriff.

TBC


	10. Chapter 10

When Clark and Lois went into the classroom, it was completely quiet. The study hall teacher, Mr. Hilton, looked up with a glare that said, 'Talk and die. Do anything but study and die.'

Clark turned to Lois with a look that said, 'I told you so.'

She simply smiled, as they took their seats. After a few minutes, some very heavy stomping came down the hall and Mr. Reynolds swung open the door, "Mr. Hilton, I want to talk to you now!"

"Lois, what did you do?" Clark whispered.

Mr. Hilton left with Mr. Reynolds to have a heated discussion. The class began talking at once.

"I merely scribbled a note and threw it in the office, as we walked by," Lois said.

"What kind of note?" Clark asked warily.

"A note that said Mr. Hilton had a rendezvous with Mrs. Reynolds tonight." 

"What? Lois!"

"Calm down, Smallville. They'll fight and then realize one of the students pulled this trick."

"If they don't kill each other first."

"Mr. Hilton knows he didn't do it and Mr. Reynolds is a calm, rational man. They'll talk it out."

"That was still a pretty dirty trick."

"They probably won't even remember when this is all over. Look, Chloe and Bruce are talking now. Wasn't that worth it?"

"I realize you want Chloe to be happy. So do I but aren't you against playing matchmaker?"

"Usually but they're already engaged. I'm merely helping along a natural course of events. Who knows how long we may be stuck like this?"

"I guess I can't argue with that," Clark said, giving in.

"Have you noticed that Pete and Lana have been spending a lot of time together?"

"Lois, we're not trying to set people up. We're trying to get out of this situation."

"I know. I wouldn't try to set them up. I'm just saying, they're both single in real time and they've been spending a lot of time together."

"That's not unusual. Chloe, Lana, Pete, and I always spent time together in high school. Chloe and I are occupied with our significant others, so Pete and Lana are the only ones left. If they were going to get together, they would've gotten together in high school."

"Not necessarily. They were hanging out together at the reunion. Besides back then you all were in a vicious triangle, no probably more like a square or circle. Pete wanted to be with Chloe, Chloe wanted to be with you, you wanted to be with Lana, and Lana wanted to be with--well, sometimes you and sometimes she brought more men into the equation. In all that mess, when did they have time to think about the possibilities between them?"

"That's true."

"Don't worry though. That's for them to decide. I'm not going to try to force them together."

"I'm glad. So have you noticed anything strange about anybody?"

"No. You?"

"No. Nobody extra or unfamiliar in here. I keep checking around the school every so often too."

"They stopped talking."

"Who did?" Clark asked.

"Bruce and Chloe. Do you think that's a bad sign?"

"Not really. Bruce isn't a chatterbox."

"But they've just met for the first time or so they think. Wouldn't they have plenty to talk about?"

"I wouldn't worry about it. I hear Mr. Hilton coming back."

"More like Mr. Hitler."

"I think that was his nickname."

One of the kids toward the front, held up a picture they had drawn of Mr. Hilton as Hitler. Everyone snickered. Unfortunately, that's when Mr. Hilton walked in.

He grabbed the picture and said. "How very original." He crumpled it and threw it away. "Any of you care to confess who wrote that little note?"

There was silence.

"Fine but know that I'll be watching each and every one of you very closely."

At 2:59, Clark and Lois were holding hands. Mr. Hilton decided to walk to the back of the room, going up the aisle that Clark and Lois were reaching across. He didn't ask them to move. He just kept walking, breaking their hold. They quickly tried to grab each other's hands again, just as there was a flash of light.

TBC 


	11. Chapter 11

When the light was gone, they found that they had grabbed each other's hands in time. They had to be more careful. If they ever lost their memories, then there would be no one to help them. They were in the same classroom they'd been in during study hall but Mr. Hilton had left.

"Clark, is it my imagination or do we all have different clothes on?"

"It's not your imagination. I think—"

A woman came in, who was the homeroom teacher. "I'm glad to see you all made it on time."

"Not that hard to do when you never left," Lois whispered.

She took attendance. The principal came over the intercom and had them say the pledge of allegiance, they had a moment of silence, and he gave the announcement about 'a great football game last night.' Then the bell rang, signaling the first class of the day.

"I think we have Spanish, Lois."

You have Spanish. I didn't have to take a language here because I already had 4 years of French that I passed with flying colors because Dad was stationed in a French-speaking country for a while. I think I just had study hall that I spent bugging admissions."

"You can come anyway."

"It's 4th year Spanish, right?"

"Yeah."

"I know 3 words in Spanish, monsieur: taco, nacho, and salsa."

"That's a start. It's a big class. I'm sure you'll never get called on."

"Are you still fluent in Spanish, Smallville, or are you rusty?"

"I'm actually fairly fluent. Sometimes I have to go to Latin American countries or Spain and you know," he made a flying motion with his hand, "but the biggest reason I'm still fluent is Mrs. Anderson."

"Mrs. Anderson?"

"My old Spanish teacher. Even though we don't have a significant Hispanic population in Smallville, despite being an agricultural community, Mrs. Anderson keeps her old students on their toes. Practically every time we come to Smallville I see her because Smallville is so small, she talks to me in Spanish. Her questions change too. First it was '¿Cómo usted tienen gusto de la universidad¿Dónde usted trabaja¿Todavía le casan¿Cuándo son usted y su esposa que van a tener un bebé?' That last question means, 'When are you and your wife going to have a baby?'"

"Did you tell her that's none of her business?"

"She's just trying to be friendly."

"She's trying to be a busybody."

"Lois, what's your problem? Why do you not want to talk about babies all of a sudden?"

The bell rings.

"Second bell. We're late," she said and started to head away.

He took her gently by the arm. "You're not going anywhere until we talk about this."

"About what?"

"Lois."

"I guess I might as well tell you. You're going to find out about it sooner or later. I was going to tell you I was pregnant at the restaurant but obviously, our plans got canceled."

"That's wonderful news!" he exclaimed, hugging her.

"But that's not all of the news. When we got deaged, something happened to the baby. I took a pregnancy test in the bathroom and I'm not pregnant anymore."

He took a step back and gazed intently at her stomach. "Honey, I see a very small baby forming. I don't know why the test said you weren't but you are."

Lois didn't say anything. She just hugged him with wet eyes.

"Those tests aren't always accurate," he said.

"Thank goodness. I did all that worrying for nothing."

"You should have told me from the beginning."

"I know but I didn't want to worry you unnecessarily."

"It's my baby too and you're my wife. Whether it's good or bad news, I should have known about it."

"I've learned my lesson. You can stop with the lecture now. Can you believe it? A baby. We're having a baby."

"It's a miracle. Our own little miracle. Wait until Mom hears, she'll be so happy."

"I can't wait to tell her either. If we'll ever be able to tell her."

"We will. We better get to class before they come looking for us. I love you, Lois."

"I love you, Smallville."

He puts a hand on her stomach. "I love you, baby."

Lois smiles and places her hand over his as they walk to class.  
---

"Donde estaba usted, Carlos?"

"Carlos?" Lois whispered.

"My Spanish name," he whispered back. "En el corredor. Lo siento."

Quiénes son usted?" she asked Lois.

"Uh…I'm a new student," Lois told her.

"En español, por favor," Mrs. Anderson told her.

Clark put his hand over his mouth and said, "Say 'Soy una nueva estudiente."

Lois repeated it very awkwardly and they both sat down.

"¿Cuál es su nombre?"

"She asked 'what is your name'," Clark told her.

"Lois Lane."

"Cuál es su nombre español?"

"Pick a Spanish name," Clark whispered.

"Juan," Lois said.

"Ése es nombre de un muchacho."

"She said 'that's a boy's name'," Clark translated.

"That's what they called me at my old school," Lois told her.

"Vamos a llamarle Juanita."

"Got it. Me Juanita," Lois said.

After she began to teach, Clark smiled and said, "You're picking up on Spanish already."

"It wasn't that hard Juan and Juanita." Lois noticed that Chloe was on her other side and said, "You never told me how it went with Bruce."

"Lousy. He's not interested in me. He listened to me babble and sometimes politely responded but he didn't ask me out or anything."

"That's because he's a little on the shy side."

"Really?"

"Really. It might be a while before he warms up to you but he will. He didn't bother to give me polite responses and he didn't want to hear me talk."

"I wish I'd sat beside him now," Chloe said. "Did you see a doctor?"

"No, but I will."

"Lois!"

"If it makes you feel any better, I told Clark." Clark leaned over and nodded to confirm it to Chloe. "I'm also still pregnant."

"Congratulations, you guys."

"Thank you," they both told her.

"Lois, what are you doing in Spanish class?" Chloe suddenly realized.

"Just hanging."

They started to pay attention to class.

Mrs. Anderson was holding up an apple. "What's this?" she asked in English.

Lois answered, "An apple."

The class chuckled.

"En español," Mrs. Anderson said with exasperation her voice.

One of the smart kids answered, "La manzana."

"Y este?" she asked holding up a lemon.

"El limón," the same kid answered again.

"The day has barely began and I'm already el boredo," Lois said.

TBC 


	12. Chapter 12

Martha frowned and let out a frustrated sigh. The new sheriff wasn't taking her seriously. He was also new to this area and not used to sci-fi stuff being real and common in this part of the world. He obviously thought she was a crazy old lady. 

"Ma'am, I'm sure you thought you saw a man in his late 20s step out of a black hole and we thank you for reporting it like a good citizen."

"Please listen Sheriff Thomas, I know what I saw. It was as real as this desk here. You need to send someone out there to inspect the place and be on the alert for the young man."

"Yes, ma'am. I heartily thank you for teaching me how to do my job. I'll show you to the door, dear."

She put her head against her hand for a moment to regain her composure and then tried again. "Despite what you may think, not all old people have faulty minds and I'm not that old. I am a respectable, trustworthy citizen and this batty old lady was once the senator of this state. I did see a kid come out of a black hole where the school was and even if I am mistaken, you haven't the foggiest idea what could have happened down there. A person in your position ought to follow any leads given and at the very least, you can take a description of the young man just in case. You really wouldn't want to lose your job due to negligence. This case involves a lot of lives, 2 of them my son and daughter-in-law. If something happened to them, I would see sure to it that you paid. Are we clear, Mr. Thomas?"

The sheriff was speechless. The woman that had come in was sweet and worried. The woman before him now was intelligent and commanding. It wasn't hard to believe she had been a senator.

"Yes, ma'am. I'll send in a police artist right away. I'll go to the school personally."

"Thank you," Martha said.

---

"Clark, if I have to sit through one more class, I swear I'll go insane. Do you realize school will never be over? Horror movies don't get any scarier than this. We'll have to raise our kids here."

"Relax. This is the first time we've had history. Technically, we haven't even gone a full school day."

"That cheers me up. It feels like it's been an eternity. What are we going to do when we get sleepy?"

"I guess sleep in class like a couple of the students are doing now."

The bell rang, starting class.

Mr. Jensen began talking. "As you all know we're studying the political side of the Civil War."

"I hate politics," Lois grumbled under her breath.

"Says the woman who spent a couple years as a senator's chief of staff and a campaign manager before that," Clark said teasingly.

"Only for your parents. I wouldn't have done it for anybody else. Now be a good student and listen."

"Just because a state joined either side, it doesn't mean everyone in that state was sympathetic to that side. Virginia was a very divided state. The mountainous region didn't care for the issue because they didn't have plantations. They were into mining. Therefore the western part of Virginia broke off and became West Virginia. However even in this new state of West Virginia, a majority of the southern West Virginians were sympathetic with the Confederacy. Kansas never completely joined either side because it was so torn and the two opposing groups committed violent acts toward each other, hence the term bleeding Kansas. Sometimes it was literally a matter of brother fighting against brother. Neither was the war a matter of just one issue. Sometimes people felt they were fighting for freedom or the protection of the slavery practice. Some felt they were defending their home or keeping the nation together. Robert E. Lee felt he had to defend his home rather than feeling strongly about slavery. Abraham Lincoln is quoted as saying he would have allowed slavery or abolished it, depending on what it took to preserve the union. The white population that owned slaves was 12 percent, meaning a majority of the Confederates didn't even own slaves. One major driving force was the North and South were divided culturally and economically, practically since the founding of the country. The North dealt in manufacturing and the South in agriculture. Europe, a major buyer of the products, was considering buying directly through Virginia ports instead of New York, it was one of the reasons the South asked Europe for aid and the South also had a source of free labor. A lot of people feel that rather than it being a war of idealism, it was a war of power and money. Behind any war you'll find money at some level. The Revolutionary War was more concerned with taxes than the tyranny of monarchs. The Crusades became more about bringing back riches of silk and spices than gaining back holy land. As I'm sure you all are aware, the South acted as a country during those few years with Jefferson Davis as the president, Richmond as the capital, a flag of their own, and their own currency. It was supposed to be a short war. The South had a lot of disadvantages, mainly financial. In fact, people took their families on picnics to see the first battle. People didn't realize how long and bloody the war would be. The North dominated in supplies and transportation. The South had an edge because it was their land that was being fought on and they had a couple of brilliant generals. Until Ulysses S. Grant came along, the North didn't have very good generals. After the war was over the South was left in devastation and Reconstruction took place. The newly freed slaves also suffered. They couldn't find jobs because the war didn't rid people of their prejudice. However in the long run, this war was a good thing because it abolished an evil practice in America but I'm sorry to say slavery still exists in parts of the world. Back on topic though, there are still parts of the South in poverty as a result of a war that happened in the 1800s. History is never over and done with. It affects the present. This was a basic overview. The first thing we're going to discuss in great detail is the presidential election of 1860 between Lincoln and Douglas."

Lois stood up and without a word walked out of the class. Clark followed her after asking for permission from Mr. Jensen.

"Why did you leave?" Clark asked. "Didn't you think it was a little interesting?"

"No, most of it was boring and it was about to get a lot worse. We've had this stupid class before. I was ready to start pulling my hair out. We're accomplishing nothing sitting in classes."

"What are we going to accomplish out here?"

"I don't know but anything is better than being in there. Maybe we'll stumble on the leader of this thing."

"We'll look around for a little while but can't stay gone too long. We're supposed to think we're in high school and not make it obvious that we're trying to escape. Whatever we do, you have to stay relaxed. It's not good for the baby if you're stressed out."

"I'll try to keep that in mind but I can't promise anything. We're in a stressful situation here."

He took her hand and kissed it. "I know."

They didn't find the leader but they found Kevin.

"Kevin," Lois said, "I didn't expect to run across you again."

"I have some more things to tell you. First of all, your mother saw me, Clark and now there's a cop patrolling the school grounds. I was lucky he didn't see me and it's going to be tricky leaving. I can't come around here a lot."

"You couldn't have made her forget she saw you?" Clark asked.

"It would've been helpful but I don't want to mess with people's memory unless I have to. I may end up having to use it on the cop though."

"I appreciate you, not using it on her. Is she really worried?" Clark asked.

"She's your mother and she was in the school parking lot," Kevin answered.

"So how are you able to come and go at will?" Lois asked.

"As near as I can figure because I haven't been directly informed, it's like the school's been put in another dimension. It's where it has always been and it's not."

"That last statement was very insightful," Lois said sarcastically.

"They can't see the school and you can't see outside. There's just nothingness when you try to see the part of the world you're missing. There's a black hole linking these 2 separate but close worlds."

"Can't everybody just leave through the hole?" Lois asked.

"You could if it was an emergency. You go downstairs to the basement and you can crawl through the vent to access it. You have to know it's there because it's only visible when someone's using it. If you just leave though, you won't be able to catch who's behind it or the person may realize their plan is falling apart and kill everybody."

"This is going to be very hard. So do you know if this person even hangs in the school?" Clark asked.

"No, sorry," Kevin said.

"So who is it that deaged us," Clark asked, "and can they age us back when it's over?"

"She used to go to this school. Her name's Missy."

"Chrissy Parker?" Clark said in disbelief.

"Who is she?" Lois directed the question to Clark.

"A girl who'd been going to high school since the 20s. She kept herself young by sucking other people's youth. She didn't get recharged though and she turned into dust. I never did understand where her powers came from. It was way before the meteor shower."

"She explained it to me," Kevin said. "There was an amateur scientist, who taught at her first school. He claimed to have made a machine that kept people young and she volunteered to be his guinea pig in hopes of staying young, so she'd never have to move onto the next stage in her life. The machine worked a little differently than he thought it would and she sucked what was left of his youth, killing him. She destroyed the machine and the notes, so no one would ever find out. In more recent times, a meteor rock came in contact with her ashes restoring her life and it also gave her the power to change the ages of others and herself. To answer your earlier question, I'm sure she can restore you to your proper age."

"If this happens at our 50th high school reunion, we might not want to be returned to our real age," Lois said, figuring a light moment was needed.

"She really has turned over a new leaf," Kevin told them. "She doesn't want to be a part of this thing. As far as she knows, she is capable of dying and when returned to her natural state she is aging. She looks like she's in her mid 20s."

"And she also has no idea who's behind it?" Clark asked.

"Right. I have to go before we're caught. I think I've shared everything I know. If I remember anything else, I'll try to come back. Good luck," and he left.

"Ready for music?" Clark asked. "I'm pretty sure that's the only class we haven't done yet."

"I hate music class. I want to keep looking around."

"You'll have to sing Rock-a-bye Baby in the near future. Are you sure you don't want some free music lessons?"

"I won't need them. You're the one who'll be singing the baby lullabies."

"Me? You sing better than I do."

"I do not."

"We can't argue about it right now. I've got a solution. How about we let my mom do the singing?"

"Deal. My dad could do it too."

"That's a weird image, your father singing lullabies."

"I've heard him sing the Star Spangled Banner before. He's not that bad. I don't thing he'll go for it though. So, you want to go check upstairs in the forbidden, uncharted territories of extra storage?"

"Why not?" Clark asked. "I've always wondered what was up there."

TBC


	13. Chapter 13

Clark and Lois came out dusty and dirty. They'd been carefully investigating. 

"That was extremely helpful and enlightening," Lois remarked sarcastically.

"Well, we finally know what's in there now: dust, junk, and a spider. If it wasn't for the lead paint, I could have just looked in there."

"I don't know why they even bother putting up a sign to say no students allowed. Who would want to go in there?"

"You'd probably be surprised. They're out of music now and getting ready for P.E."

"I guess we have no choice but to go."

"You can go but you're not participating. I'll write you up a fake doctor's note."

"I doubt a little P.E. is going to hurt anything."

"Better safe than sorry. You can sit up in the bleachers and watch."

"Can I, Clark? Can I?"

"I'm doing it for yours and the baby's health."

"I know you are. I guess it is better safe than sorry where the baby's concerned but don't expect me to become a passive, little mother that obeys your every command."

"Never crossed my mind. I'm not that lucky," he teased.

She smacked him playfully on the arm and they headed toward the gym.  
---

They were playing basketball, a game where you could easily get jabbed or have the ball thrown at your stomach. He warned her to sit high in the bleachers.

She watched them play for a bit. There was many times Clark could have scored a basket but didn't, partly out of fairness and partly to keep his secret safe. He was attractive to watch as he ran up and down the court. Of course, she liked to watch him play football better. As teenagers, she had never missed a game if she could help it.

She wasn't the only one sitting out. There was a boy in the bleachers too. He was as thin as toothpicks, had glasses that covered half his face, and he was breathing heavily.

"Why are you sitting out?" she asked him.

He answered her in a very nasally voice, "I have asthma. I can't overexert myself."

"Oh," and she went back to watching the game but she had now given him permission to talk with her like old friends by talking first.

"I'm excited about biology. We're talking about the birthing process today."

"Oh, joy," she said, keeping her eyes on the game.

"But humans aren't the ones I like to study best."

"You like studying about animals?"

"No, aliens."

That made her focus back on the boy. "What?"

"I know it's unusual. That's what makes it fun and between you and me I do think they exist. You know what my favorite movie is?"

"I would guess Star Wars or Star Trek."

He laughed and snorted. "No, but good one. I like Men in Black. The best part is where they're helping deliver the alien baby. This long, purple arm comes thrashing out of the womb and he picks Agent J up and starts tossing him around and then the baby pukes like a waterfall. When the baby's out, it looks like a little purple squid."

Lois clearly looked ill. "I'd rather not talk about this even if it's only fiction."

"Then in this tabloid I read, the alien plants its seed in an earth woman and she explodes when the baby comes."

Lois was very pale. "Seriously, shut up."

He did and then she asked, "Aren't there ever any normal births?"

"Nope."

"What if the alien looks exactly like an earth person in every physical way possible?"

"I saw something like that once. The alien—"

"Never mind. I don't want to know."

When class let out, Lois got to Clark before he went into the locker room and dragged him off to a private hallway. "How are Kryptonians born?"

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. Is the birth going to be normal?"

He smiled. "Kryptonian babies are born in the exact same way. I made sure to ask Jor-El before we started trying. The baby won't even be able to start developing powers until it's had prolonged exposure to the sun, meaning after it's born. I was a teen before the powers really started to come and since it's only half, it'll probably take even longer."

"That's a relief. I'm glad you think about these things because I don't."

"I wouldn't let anything happen to you. There was one tiny difference though."

"What!?!"

"Relax. When they got technologically advanced, they began putting the babies in birthing chambers, instead of having women carry them around."

"I guess it's too late to go with that option?"

"About 28 years too late. That part of Kryptonian technology was destroyed."

"Jor-El couldn't have put it with your fortress stuff?"

"He didn't think I would need it."

"Earth women could have used it. I better let you get changed. I'll be waiting in the hall."

He kissed her and left. She began to wander the halls aimlessly. They were deserted. She was really getting annoyed. She didn't want to go to biology.

She yelled, "I want to talk to whoever did this. Your jig is up, buddy! We know what you did and we know how to get out. Why don't you make it easy on yourself and come out of hiding, you coward."

As soon as she got that last word out, she instantly regretted saying it, as she felt a cool, steel blade dig into her back and jerk back out. Before she could turn around to see who it was, she blacked out. She only had one thought on her mind. The baby.

TBC


	14. Chapter 14

Lois' eyes slowly opened. She was still in the hallway and she was lying in a pool of blood, her blood. She tried to yell but she felt so weak.

"Lois," Clark called from around the corner, "Where'd you go? Lois!"

He saw her and absolute terror came into his eyes. He was by her side in less than a second. "What happened? Never mind, we have to get you help. I'll take you to the hospital through the escape."

"Clark, I've lost too much blood for that and I have a huge gaping hole in my back. It's probably not wise to move me. You know who you have to get to help me."

He kissed her forehead, "Don't you dare die. I let my guard down. I should have never left you."

"It had nothing to do with you not doing something right."

She didn't think he heard her. He was gone in an instant and back almost as quickly with Chloe.

"Oh my gosh, Lois," she said, kneeling beside her. "Call an ambulance, Clark!"

"We don't have time, Chloe. Fix her."

Chloe looked at Clark in disbelief. "Fix her? Do I look like a doctor to you?"

"Don't play games with me, Chloe!" Clark yelled in an uncharacteristic manner.

Lois weakly interrupted. "First of all, I'm not sure Chloe knew she had this power in high school and second of all people can't always cry on command."

"I'll make her cry if I have to," he glared at Chloe.

"Smallville, we have to face she may not be able to help. I think I'm on the verge of death. I should know. It wouldn't be the first time. Nor the first time, I almost died from a stabbing and Chloe saved me. You know, you kind of get used to dying after awhile." Clark knelt down beside her and took her hand. "I'm not worried about me just the baby but if we end up dying, I'm positive we'll end up at those pearly gates. Well, the baby will anyway. I'll probably end up at the eternal barbecue." She saw the look on his face. "Sorry, bad time for jokes. I always did have a big mouth. That's what got me in this situation now."

Bruce, Lana, and Pete came around the corner. They were trying to figure out where Chloe had disappeared to. They saw the scene and looked horrified.

Chloe rushed into Bruce's arms. "I think my cousin's going to die!" At last the tears began to fall.

"Chloe," Clark said through gritted teeth, "I understand you may not know you have this power but we need you to bring those tears over here."

Bruce, Lana, Pete, and Chloe looked at Clark like he was crazy.

Chloe spoke hesitantly, "Whatever you say, Clark."

She let a tear fall on Lois. Lois was instantly healed and Chloe passed out. Clark caught her, expecting it to happen.

"I'll probably be shocked the day I actually die on a permanent basis," Lois said. "We really should start bottling those tears. That way she won't have to rejuvenate every time she heals somebody."

Lana, who had been clinging to Pete during this whole incident said, "What just happened?"

Clark was holding Lois tight. "The baby's fine," he whispered. Then he directed his attention to the other 3, who were waiting for an answer. "It's Chloe's secret. I can't tell you."

Chloe woke up. "I feel really good actually." She reached over to hug Lois. "You're okay. I can't believe it!" She stood up and faced the party waiting on an explanation. "Obviously, I guess I'm a meteor freak. It's the first time I've ever done that. Are you guys okay with it?"

Pete and Lana nodded and she looked to Bruce for an answer.

"That depends," he said. "What's a meteor freak?"

Chloe smiled, "I forgot you're not from around here. There was a meteor shower and it gave powers to some of the locals."

"Why would I have a problem with it?" Bruce asked. "It's a wonderful gift and you're a wonderful person."

Lois smiled. "He knows your secret now. Wait till Bruce tells you what he's going to be when he grows up."

Chloe ignored that, not understanding the comment and told Clark, "See we're all open-minded. Is there something you want to tell us, Clark?"

Clark looked puzzled and then he realized what she was talking about. "Oh, I'm so used to all of you knowing, I forgot you didn't. Yeah, I have powers too. I'm an alien."

Pete wasn't surprised. He knew it already. Chloe was surprised about the alien part. Lana and Bruce were just surprised. They all started asking questions.

"I should've said no," Clark said. "There are too many questions and not enough time to answer them. You'll all know sooner than you think. The 6 of us have to catch the person who did this to Lois and we're not stopping until we do."

Lois started to explain exactly what happened, as they headed the hall.

TBC 


	15. Chapter 15

"I wish we had clothes to change into." Lois said, as they were searching the school, "I got my blood all over everybody. Well, except Bruce, Pete, and Lana but even you 3 have it on your shoes and the hole in the back of my shirt, where the knife went in, is driving me crazy," she said, fingering it. 

"It doesn't bother me," Clark said. "I'm just happy you're okay."

"Me too," Chloe said.

"There are 6 of us," Bruce said, changing the subject. "I say we split up to look. We'll cover more territory that way."

So Bruce, Lana, and Pete went to the left and Lois, Clark, and Chloe went to the right.

About half an hour later, Lois, Clark, and Chloe were startled as the door to the room they were searching flung open and Lana yelled, "Come quick! We've caught him. You won't believe how!"

Apparently Bruce had been up ahead, stealthily going along, when he had seen one of the strangest sights in his life. The chair in a room was in the process of morphing into a man. Bruce and Pete had quickly grabbed him before he could escape.

Clark and Chloe gasped when they saw him. It was William Taylor, Mrs. Taylor's son.

"How did you get so old?" Chloe asked.

"That's not important," Lois answered her.

Clark angrily picked him up off the floor. "You almost killed my wife and baby and it's not the first time you've tried to kill someone I care about. You better start explaining now."

He was scared. He knew Clark was Superman. He had eavesdropped on Lois and Kevin's conversation. He was a mop in the closet. "Okay," he said surrendering immediately. "As you might have guessed, I have a meteor power over physical objects. I can make them out of thin air or put them into another dimension but I can't change the physical appearance of living things other than myself, which is why I needed Missy."

"Why did you do it?" Clark demanded, still angry and still holding him in the air.

"Isn't it obvious," Lois spoke up. "He's another nut who can't let go of high school."

"That's not true," William said. "It's my mother. She just got out of jail a year ago. She'll never be able to work as a teacher again. Teaching is her passion and I wanted to give it back to her."

Clark put him down but didn't release his grip. "I'm sorry about your mother. She's a nice lady. Maybe she can talk the state into reissuing her teacher's license but that doesn't excuse your crimes, particularly attempted murder."

He glared at Clark, "I couldn't let anyone interfere with my plan. You have no idea how much planning it took."

Lois had slipped off during the last part to get the cop that was patrolling the school, so he could make the arrest. Sheriff Thomas had a hard time processing it all but he did his job anyway. Kevin and Missy were in the vicinity at the time that Lois came out, hoping they could see whoever was behind it come out. Missy and Kevin quickly did their part, restoring everyone's age and memory. William had to be talked into putting things back to normal. The sheriff promised considering a lighter sentence if he was cooperative. He agreed but nothing much seemed to change when he did it. There was no light or tremor but everyone was back in their evening clothes and they could see outside.

TBC


	16. Chapter 16

As soon as they were back, most people began filing out. They still had the memory of what happened and they were eager to get home. The sheriff reminded everyone that they could be called on to testify and he left with his prisoner. Mrs. Taylor went along too, since it was her son. She wanted to have a long talk with him. She obviously didn't approve of what he had done. Kevin and Missy went along too for questioning purposes. Pretty soon the only people left were Clark, Lois, Chloe, Bruce, Pete, and Lana.

Pete and Lana said their goodbyes. The fact that they were going to start dating was pretty clear. Pete told Clark that he was definitely going to keep in touch. He said it seemed everyone found out Clark's secret with or without his help.

"I guess we'd better go too," Bruce said.

"The engagement party is coming up. You two should be getting your invitation in the mail any day now," Chloe told them.

"Chloe, I'm going to tell you this before I lose my nerve," Bruce said suddenly. "Clark and Lois already know it. I'm Batman."

"Oh," Chloe said.

"Oh?" Bruce repeated. "Is that all you have to say. I had to get up my nerve for months to say that and yes, the great Batman was afraid and that's all you say. Oh?"

"I'm glad you told me," Chloe said. "But to tell you the truth, I kind of suspected it. I am a reporter after all."

"I guess you are," he said with a smile.

"I know you already know about my meteor power but you should also know that meteor powers can be inherited. Our kids could be meteor freaks."

"Don't say freaks," Lois, Clark, and Bruce said at the same time.

Chloe smiled. "Meteor people then."

"That's fine with me," Bruce said. "I think it'd be a good thing with the dangerous lifestyles we lead, they need all the protection they can get."

"Isn't that the truth about dangerous lifestyles?" Lois asked. "It almost makes you rethink having kids."

"Yeah, but our baby is a Lane and a Kent from Earth and from Krypton," Clark said. "He's got the best of everything. He's already proved that he's a strong kid, a survivor. We'll be able to keep him safe."

"He? Him? So you've decided it's a boy?"

"I just have a feeling I guess."

Lois smiled, "So do I and I'm sure that'll make your mom even happier to know we want to name him after his grandfather."

"Really?" Clark asked.

"Of course. I can't think of a better name, can you?"

Clark just smiled.

Martha rushed into the gym and threw her arms around Clark and Lois and with tears of joy said, "It's true! You're okay. Sheriff Thomas called and told me but I had to see it with my own 2 eyes." She hugged Chloe and Bruce too.

"We're leaving now. We're exhausted and we have to get back to Gotham as soon as possible." Bruce said. "Congratulations by the way."

"Bye." Chloe said. "Love you guys. Sorry that my teenage self was a pain in the behind. We'll call when we get home."

"Bye!" the Kents said, smiling and waving.

"Congratulations?" Martha asked, when Chloe and Bruce were out of the gym. "What did Bruce mean by that?"

"Congratulations on our baby. You're going to be a grandmother," Clark said happily.

Martha cried and hugged them again. "Look at us standing here," Martha said. "I bet you all are hungry and tired. We have to get back to the farm."

"We will, Mom," Clark said, "but can Lois and I have a moment alone?"

"I guess you can. You are married after all. See you both at home."

"Good thinking, Smallville," Lois said when Martha was gone. "We have to get this story into the Daily Planet fast. We weren't the only reporters here at this thing. If only Jimmy had come along, we could have had pictures. That kid is never there to take pictures when you need him. Oh well, I guess a picture of the school is enough. What's a good opening line? It started out like any other high school re--"

"Lois," Clark interrupted.

"What?" Lois said irritated.

"I simply wanted to dance with you."

"Dance?"

"It occurred to me that we never got to dance."

"There's no music," she protested.

He took her hand and wrapped his other arm around her waist and began dancing with her. "You're all the music I need."

"That's an incredibly cheesy line," she said with a smile.

"It may be cheesy but it's true," he said.

Their laughter echoed in the empty school. They felt so happy and young, it was hard to tell whether they were at a high school reunion or still in high school.

The End 


End file.
